Redesigned Account Planning Transforms an IT Company’s Performance

A leading provider of IT products and services supercharged its growth after we showed them how to implement new account planning practices and tools. The redesigned processes helped ITServiceCo* add $1.4 billion to its sales pipeline over 18 months.

To begin we deployed our Commercial Excellence X-Ray tool, which gave us a detailed assessment of ITServiceCo’s existing commercial capabilities. We measured the effects of problems like inconsistent account planning across sales regions and employees’ limited use of CRM to track opportunities. The results of this comprehensive diagnostic convinced the company that a full redesign of its account planning processes would produce a significant payback.       

• $1.4B Increase in product-specific pipeline over 18 months
• 11% Year-over-year growth (2-3x higher than market average)
• 400+ Priority accounts set up for maximum potential

A key first step was to implement a new digital platform that standardized ITServiceCo’s CRM data and made them more accessible. Previously, individual salespeople used the CRM system ineffectively, manually populating fields using mismatched templates that at best contained only static information. This dynamic new online system enabled customized approaches to key accounts and facilitated coordinated sales efforts and accurate data uploads.

To ensure the company realized maximum value from its CRM investment helped ITServiceCo develop a set of monetary and non-monetary rewards for behaviors that advanced the company’s account planning goals. By celebrating the regional “champions” of this contest the company was able to build a network of internal sponsors who reinforced the new top-to-bottom commitment to account planning.

Previously, ITServiceCo lacked any sort of company-wide rhythm for updating account plans, leaving that critical process to the discretion of regional sales leaders. We helped formalize and centralize the process, establishing an ongoing cadence of reviews that cascaded down from the executive level to regional leaders and directors. This approach gives ITServiceCo a mechanism to continually develop and refine its account strategies. We also drew up playbooks that will enable the company to launch new plans in the future.

With its new, multi-faceted approach to account planning, ITServiceCo was able to capture the full potential of more than 400 priority accounts. Within this subset of accounts, the company realized 11% year-on-year growth – double or triple the industry average. Sales teams use dashboards to track progress, coordinate efforts, and gain instant visibility into their competitive position, leaving them better equipped than ever before to chase new opportunities.